Chapter 135
The castle fell through a rush of panic and horror as the news spread that Dumbledore was gone and Umbridge had taken over the castle. Even the Order didn't know where Dumbledore was at the moment, though they knew that the only way to reach him would be through a Patronus.
As the weeks passed, it was as though the whole castle was plotting against Umbridge. The Gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office had locked and wouldn't allow Umbridge in, even though she was the new Headmistress.
Lee Jordan used the Levitation Charm to levitate two Nifflers through her office window to wreck the office, and the Weasley twins placed The Portable Swamp in the fifth floor which ended up covering the entire corridor.
Umridge was unable to get rid of it, and when she asked McGonagall and Flitwick to do something about it, they said they weren't able to do anything, even though everyone was sure they could probably get rid of it in three seconds.
Of course, Jenna didn't want to stand aside and let the others have all the fun. So to do her part in this noble act of torturing Umbridge, one day she took a dungbomb between her teeth in her cat form and made her way down toward Umbridge's office.
Crookshanks waited for the pink toad to show up before walking toward her, still holding onto the dungbomb like a ball.
"Oh, hello there!" Umbridge said in a high voice when she saw the ginger cat. She then bent down to pet the cat, which made Jenna want to throw up. But she tried to remain patient.
When Umbridge opened up her office's door, Jenna took the opportunity and dropped the dungbomb from her mouth. In a quick motion, she rolled the ball with the use of her paw and threw it inside the office while Umbridge was in there.
Crookshanks then turned around and started to run out of the corridor, only to head Umbridge's scream and a loud bang erupting the place.
Nice one, J.P, Jenna thought to herself proudly, running back to the Gryffindor common room.
***
Finally, the fifth year's O.W.Ls arrived. Seeing as Lexi Hooper couldn't do magic, the Order asked Tonks and Jenna, so one of them could impersonate Lexi and give the practical exams instead of her.
Jenna said she wouldn't have minded, although Tonks insisted on doing it herself. Tonks was thirteen years younger than Jenna, and therefore she could remember their old school lessons better for the examinations.
Although now that Dumbledore was gone, it was harder to get by with Umridge as the new Headmistress. Every day there was a new sign on the notice board and she kept adding to her rules, taking drastic measures toward whoever disobeyed her.
She had even recruited a few of Slytherins and gave them the name 'Inquisitorial Squad'. They were supposed to turn in those who broke Umbridge's rules without showing mercy.
Not even the Professors had the power to tell her off, knowing that she wouldn't hesitate to sack them. So they kept their silence for the sake of the students, afraid that if they were fired, Umbridge would replace them with someone as horrible as her.
But McGonagall reached her breaking point at the night of the Astronomy practical exam. Umbridge had summoned a few wizards from the Ministry, determined to go after Hagrid, and sent him to Azkaban if necessary.
McGonagall tried to go and help Hagrid, but she was outnumbered and took many Stunning spells to the chest, passing out. A witch her age wouldn't have made it, but McGonagall was stronger than that. They managed to get her to St Mungo's just in time, and Hagrid escaped.
Although all this was just in favor for Umbridge, because now she had taken two of Dumbledore's most loyal teachers out of the way. But this also meant that Jenna and Snape were the only Order members left at Hogwarts.
Jenna now had little contact with the Order, because she would've drawn too much attention to herself if she left the castle too often, now that Umbridge had spies and guards everywhere at Hogwarts.
But at last, their final exam arrived. While Ron, Harry, and Hermione left to the Great Hall for their history exam along with the other fifth years, Crookshanks remained in the Gryffindor common room.
For weeks, her night terrors had returned to her and so she barely slept, feeling weak and exhausted all the time. The quietness of the empty common room helped her relax for the time being, as Jenna had curled up on a scarlet armchair in her cat form, hoping to fall asleep.
But she was shot awake when the portrait swung open, and Lavender and Parvati entered the room, talking in horrified murmurs and excited whispers.
"... I mean, did you see the way he scream?" said Lavender anxiously.
"Yeah, I was a few rows behind him. He literally fell off his seat, screaming," said Parvati, nodding.
Jenna's ears sharpened, trying to listen to what they were saying as the feeling of worry surged from within her.
"You don't really think Harry was having a nightmare like he claimed, do you?" Lavender asked. "I mean, it's very unlikely to fall asleep during such an important exam."
"Then what? He's a seer and he's having visions into the future?" Parvati joked, and the two girls giggled.
Although Jenna didn't stay to hear the rest of their conversation, because she had already jumped off the armchair and had ran toward the common room's door, sneaking out of its crack before it could get fully closed.
He's had another vision? Jenna thought to herself as she ran through the castle as fast as her paws allowed her. He was supposed to have learnt Occlumency by now!
Crookshanks made her way down the marble staircase, trying not to get stepped on by the passing students who were walking out of the Great Hall, talking about their exam.
Jenna looked around with widened yellow eyes, but couldn't spot Harry. In fact, as it seemed, the exam had been finished a long time ago.
So despite her desire, Jenna turned around and ran toward Snape's office in the dungeons. He was the last person Jenna wished to talk to, but she supposed that Harry had gone to him, seeing as Snape was the only member of the Order of the Phoenix who was left within the castle.
Jenna knew that Harry hated Snape, and the feeling was actually mutual. But if Harry really had a vision, he probably would've told Snape about it. It was the most sensible thing to do. It didn't matter if they hated each other. Snape was still an Order member, who could let Dumbledore know.
The moment Jenna reached Snape's office, she looked around to make sure no one was around before transforming into a random middle-aged witch and opening the door. But once Jenna stepped inside, she found Snape completely all alone, sitting behind his desk and reading through a copy of the Daily Prophet. There was no sign of Harry.
"Where are your manners, Potter?" Snape spoke without even looking up from his newspaper. "Don't you know that you must knock before you enter a room?"
But Jenna ignored him. Breathing heavily, she slammed the office's door behind her and stepped inside, though did not transform to her own true form, just in case someone burst into the room without warning, just like how she had done so.
"Where is Harry?" Jenna asked briskly, moving forward.
Snape glanced up from his newspaper and looked at her coldly. "Why should I know? I assumed that it was your responsibility to keep an eye on your beloved nephew."
"Don't take me as a fool, Severus!" Jenna snarled, the hatred visible in her eyes. "How long has it been since the last Occlumency lesson that you gave him?"
"If you're so eager to know, then perhaps you should ask Harry yourself. Or are you too much of a coward to face him?"
"Harry's had another vision!" Jenna cried out, breathing heavily through her nostrils as she glared down at him. "Now I ask you again. When was the last time you gave him Occlumency lessons, and why did you stop?"
Jenna saw something flash through Snape's eyes, though he ignored her questions. He slowly got to his feet. "What vision?"
"I don't know! All I do know is that he fell asleep during his exam today around an hour ago, and saw something, only to wake up screaming. He saw something. I'm sure of it. We should go look for him before he does anything reckless —"
But her words were cut off when they suddenly heard a knock at the door. Jenna panicked for a second, until she remembered the next moment that she wasn't looking like herself and instead had taken the form of a random witch, so she was safe.
"Come in," said Snape, though his cold gaze was fixed on Jenna and his mind far away.
Jenna glanced sideways at the door as the person opened it and stepped inside. It was Draco Malfoy.
"What is it, Draco?" Snape questioned.
"Professor Umbridge would like to see you in her office, sir," said Draco, smirking. "She's caught Potter and his friends while they were trying to contact someone through her fireplace."
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